MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- As this semester's short tournaments wind down across the Central American region, things in Nicaragua are heating up even faster than elsewhere, with the semifinal round of the Apertura underway since last month.

The Nicaraguan First Division is unique among Central American nations in the manner in which it determines its champion, splitting each tournament into two rounds followed by a two-leg final. After a round robin first phase among the eight top flight participants, the top four split away for another series of games that yields the two finalists.

It's just that stage at which the 2012 Apertura finds itself, after Real Esteli, Juventus de Managua, Managua FC and Walter Ferretti ended the first 14-game go-round in the top half of the table, edging out traditional power Diriangen for the four semifinal spots.

The teams are now in the process of playing each other home and away in a mini-table to determine which two will square off in the final.

After two of the six semifinal rounds to be disputed, a pair of teams familiar to the pinnacle of Nicaraguan football find themselves in the lead, as Ferretti and Real Esteli sit atop the four team table with four points each.

Last year's Apertura finalists tied each other on the opening day of the semifinals last month in Esteli, 1-1. In that match, this year's Nicaraguan CONCACAF Champions League representative got an early goal from Samuel Wilson, but Walter Ferretti made off with a crucial road point after Israel Reyes tied things up early in the second half.

In the other opening round match, Managua FC knocked off Juventus, 2-1, briefly putting the capital club in first place. The Blue Lions' lead atop the table was short lived, though, as Darwin Ramirez gave Walter Ferretti a 1-0 win over the Managua club on the second match date six days later, in the first game of a double header at the National University Stadium in Managua.

The second match of that day saw Real Esteli hand Juventus a second straight semifinal reverse, 3-1. Manuel Rosas opened the scoring in the 57th minute from the penalty spot, before Rudel Calero added a second five minutes later. Five minutes into second half stoppage time, Jeffrey Araica scored the capper that put Nicaragua's three-time defending champions in first place on goal differential, as they get set for a showdown this weekend with Managua FC.

At the other end of the table, both the Blue Lions and upstart Juventus, which joined Nicaragua's top flight only last year, are looking to spring an upset on last year's pair of Apertura finalists.

The rest of the semifinalists are more familiar to these heights of Nicaraguan football. The triumvirate of Managua FC, Real Esteli and Walter Ferretti have all made the semifinals in all of the last three tournaments.

While Managua FC is still looking for its first championship, Real Esteli and Managua-based power Ferretti are old pros at navigating the postseason, having split the last nine Nicaraguan titles between them.

If current form holds, those two squads could well be set to battle for yet another title in December. The final match day of the semifinals is set for the first of that month, after which the two teams that end top of the semifinal round robin will play a home-and-away series to determine the champion.

Just a year ago, in the 2011 Apertura final, Ferretti and Real Esteli battled each other down to the wire, as the capital club looked set to take its first crown since 2010 with a hard fought road draw in the away leg of the final, after a tie in the opening match in Managua. A dramatic stoppage time winner from Colombian defender Luis Gonzalez, however, meant Real Esteli would instead lift its second straight cup, a title it paired with a Clausura final victory over Diriangen FC in May of this year.

Whether that scenario has a chance to play itself out again will become clearer in the coming weeks. Regardless of the combatants in the final leg of the Nicaraguan Apertura in December, fans in that country are virtually assured of more riveting football as the uniquely formatted tournament moves towards another thrilling conclusion.